Joe Marler admits to pain of missing out on England games

Five minutes before full time at Twickenham, it struck Joe Marler like a sledgehammer. Until that point Marler had avoided watching any of England’s nail-biting Six Nations win against Wales but with the side clinging on last Saturday the Harlequins prop, whose second suspension of the season expires next week, cracked.

“I got home for the last five minutes,” Marler said. “It is my favourite fixture – England v Wales, the game I love playing in and I was gutted not being part of it. Watching the last five minutes, kicking the kids and the wife out of the lounge, I was like: ‘You need to leave, I need to watch the telly.’ That sticks with me. I really need to knuckle down now because I’m missing out on things I really want to be a part of.”